Hadron Freeze-out and QGP Hadronization

Abstract

Abundances and $m_{\perp }$-spectra of strange and other hadronic particles emanating from central 158-200 A GeV reactions between nuclei are found to originate from a thermally equilibrated, deconfined source in chemical non-equilibrium. Physical freeze-out parameters and physical conditions (pressure, specific energy, entropy, and strangeness) are evaluated. Five properties of the source we obtain are as expected for direct hadron emission (hadronization) from a deconfined quark-gluon plasma phase.

Comments: 10 pages including 7 tables. Presented at the 15th Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Park City, UT, January 1999, proceedings to be published by Kluwer Academic Press (1999) W. Bauer and G. Westfall, Eds